"Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? ..." (John 4:35-38)

"Don't you have a saying, 'It's still four months until harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor." (John 4:35-38) 

What do the 'crop' and the 'harvest' symbolize?

Jesus is speaking to his followers and disciples about passing on his teachings to others. The people who learn about God and change their lives as a result of Jesus' teachings are essentially harvested. They essentially become the crop, because Jesus' teachings can grow within our hearts and eventually allow us to change.

Jesus knows that as his teachings are passed to others, others have a chance to change their hearts and give their lives to the Supreme Being. This is the ultimate harvest because it essentially helps the Supreme Being bring home those who are ready to return to Him.

The crop consists of the souls who are ready and prepared. They have become prepared by the teachers such as the Prophets that lived before Jesus. This is why Jesus says that others sowed. Those who sowed were those messengers of God before Jesus who taught their followers - and those who followed - about the Supreme Being.

So Jesus is stating that the hard work has already been done. All his disciples have to do now is pass on Jesus' teachings - which also echoed the teachings of the Prophets - in order to complete the process of inviting those souls back home as they are ready.

These are the souls who can be educated and given a chance to have a change of heart prior to their leaving the physical body at the time of death. Every day people's bodies die. Our bodies will also die. As the body ages, diseases develop that eventually ravage it and force us to leave the body. Each of us is a soul or spirit-person who operates the physical body for a few decades before leaving it at the time of death.

Who are the 'sower' and the 'reaper'?

The "sower" in this parable is someone who teaches people about love of God. The sowers in this case are the Prophets, John the Baptist and Jesus. Essentially, they had been teaching and slowly changing people's hearts over the centuries.

The "reaper" in Jesus' analogy represents those of his disciples who will be organizing and gathering together those who have been influenced by these teachings. If a person had a change of heart after hearing Jesus' and the Prophets' teachings, they would naturally become prepared to become a follower of Jesus. 

This process of bringing those people along, to further their commitments to loving and serving the Supreme Being, would essentially be "reaping" or harvesting those who have had a change of heart.

This is what Paul and his followers missed about Jesus' teachings. Paul had never heard Jesus' teachings directly, even though some sectarian institutions call him an apostle of Jesus. Since he didn't hear Jesus' teachings directly, he didn't understand the importance of following the teachings of the ancient lineage of Prophets and teachers discussed throughout the Bible.

What Paul didn't realize is that Jesus was passing on the teachings of the Prophets. It wasn't as though Jesus was making up his own teachings.

This is why Jesus quoted the Prophets in so many of his teachings. Even his "greatest commandment" was a quote from Moses (to love God with all our heart, from Deuteronomy 6:5).

While sectarian teachers of today like to say that Jesus was referring to the Prophets predicting his arrival, he was actually quoting their teachings to support his teachings. He was "fulfilling" their teachings by passing them on to others. 

This opens up an entirely new dimension in Jesus' teachings. If one understands that Jesus was passing on the teachings of the Prophets (including John the Baptist) - and clarifying them for a different society - it gives Jesus' teachings even more power.

It also provides a strong foundation - which Paul's philosophy (called the "Pauline doctrine") didn't have. Paul made up a new speculative theory that Jesus' crucifixion saves us - we just have to accept it.

Yet Jesus never taught this. Jesus taught that what saves us is accepting and following the teachings of the Prophets - the first and greatest of which is to love God with all our heart and soul.

Furthermore, by making up a new doctrine, Paul created a rift between Christianity and Judaism. Something that Jesus would have never approved of.

Yes, Jesus did find fault with the temple hierarchy. He did criticize it. But he wasn't inventing a new religion. He was trying to clarify the teachings of those who preceded him, such as John the Baptist, Isaiah, David, Samuel, Joshua, Moses, and Abraham.

These are the sowers Jesus is referring to in this statement. And Jesus' disciples are the reapers. 

Is this about Judgment day?

Many have interpreted that Jesus is teaching about Judgment day. They have assumed that Jesus is speaking about some theoretical point in time where the end of the world comes and everyone becomes judged and reaps what they sow.

Such an interpretation is full of holes. The least of which is that it has been 2,000 years and the end of the world has yet to come. Does this mean that Jesus was tricking his students into thinking that the end of the world would come during their lifetimes?

Or are these interpreters talking about the end of the world the ones who have been tricking us?

The latter is true, since the end of the world keeps being predicted by charlatans who have continued to be wrong over the centuries.

Will God murder all the unbelievers?

Some sectarian institutions preach that the world will end soon and when it does, they (members of their institution) will be saved while God will come to the earth and murder all the unbelievers. Then they will "inherit the earth" alone.

Could this be true? Such a scenario has been used for centuries by some sectarian groups in order to scare their congregations into staying with their cult (yes, these sects are effectively doomsday cults).

They preach this scare tactic in order to enlist followers and maintain followers. Meanwhile, the leaders of these organizations enjoy elaborate wealth and comfort on the backs of their followers' donations.

The question really comes down to what kind of god they are worshiping. If they are worshipping an angry, mean and hostile god who will wipe out anyone who doesn't worship him - well, they are not worshipping the real God.

They may be calling this god the same name as Jesus and the Prophets called on. Yes, Jesus and the Prophets did call upon Jehovah by name as they worshipped Him.

But that Jehovah is a kind God. He is a loving God. That Jehovah unconditionally loves each of us - regardless of whether we believe in Him or not.

In reality, the freedom to not love or worship God is ingrained in God's creation. Why? Because this freedom is required in order to love God. If we didn't have the freedom not to worship or not love God, we couldn't really love God.

Yes, love is a choice. If we have no choice, then it is submission. It is not love.

And worship is also a choice. If we have no choice to worship, then it is slavery.

God is not seeking to make us slaves or to threaten us into submission. For the entire history of the human race - over a million years according to scientific evidence - humans have always had the freedom of choice to worship God or not.

And those institutions and their preachers who try to threaten us by saying that God will murder all the unbelievers - they are not referring to God. They are referring to a fictional character created by other hard-liner institutionalists who wanted to threaten their followers.

What about "fearing God" then?

Doesn't it say this in the Bible? Actually, the word "fear" with respect to God is mostly mistranslated in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word יָרֵא (yare') can mean "fear" in some contexts, but can also "to revere," "to honor," and "to hold in awe" and also "wonderful" or "admirable" according to Strong's and Gesenius' lexicons.

We can see how institutional translators would rather threaten people and strike fear in their followers over the centuries, as they have chosen the darkest possible translation of this word - out of its context. (What is that context? Those Prophets who revered God were writing these words.)

Such a choice of translation actually reflects the very choice that God gives all of us. God even gives us the choice to mistranslate and misinterpret His own scriptures.

God even gives the choice even to harm His messengers. This is why so many Prophets were persecuted, and why Jesus was persecuted by those whose authority was threatened by these messengers of God.

These facts only teach us that God is a loving, caring God. He is not mean. He will not kill those who don't believe in Him. He gives us the ultimate choice to love Him or worship Him. He even gives us the choice to believe in Him. That is why He mostly hides from us.

In reality, every single body will die at the end of our lifetime. Believers and unbelievers. Every body will die.

What is Jesus saying above then?

Jesus is using an entendre here as he amalgamates the concept of harvesting souls by educating them about God. The harvest relates to success in the goal of life: Learning to know and love the Supreme Being.

As far as judgment day referred to by Jesus elsewhere: At the moment of death, each of us will leave the physical body. This is our individual judgment day because it is at this moment that those souls who have developed the consciousness to return to God are taken up to the spiritual world. Meanwhile, those souls whose journey has not been perfected will return to the physical dimension to continue our education.

Essentially, Judgment Day occurs when our bodies die, and the activities of our lives are judged.

What about reaping what we sow?

While not here, Jesus has used reaping what we sow in other contexts as well. In the physical world, our choices and activities have consequences. If we make others suffer, we will suffer similarly in a future incarnation.

In other words, self-centered individuals return back into bodies that reflect their past activities and consciousness.

This means that whatever pain and suffering we inflict upon others is perfectly returned to us in the form of a new body - born into a particular family and society. If we commit others to pain, we will receive the same pain back either in this lifetime or the next. 

As such, after the death of this body, we will take on another body that suffers those same pains we have inflicted upon others. If a person rapes and starves people as some in Africa have been doing, they will be raped and starved in their next body. This is part of God's perfect design: "As you sow, so shall you reap."

This also explains the question that some ask:

Why is there suffering in the world?

God does not cause the suffering of this world: we do.

Each of us causes our own suffering, by inflicting suffering upon others. If we become a party to suffering, we will experience the same suffering we were a party to causing upon others.

It is not as if we are guaranteed a human body: We may also be put into an animal body, fish body or even an insect body. These types of bodies are designed for more suffering. In such bodies, we are chased by giant predators. We are in fear for most of that physical lifetime. These bodies represent the worst of hell.

Oh, but you thought hell was some kind of hot dungeon somewhere under the earth with fiery horned devils chaining people to the walls? Where is that dungeon? Have any excavators or drilling rigs found any hot dungeons with horned people under the earth's surface lately? Today, drillers can drill down for miles under the ground. No one has ever drilled down into a dungeon with horned devils and chained up people.

Let's get something clear: The physical dimension is hell. This is the place where those individuals who want to escape God go.

The visions of hell drawn up in scripture are analogous. Yes, hell is a place of suffering. And yes, people are chained up - as the spirit-person is trapped (chained) inside a physical body racked with pain and suffering. The general description of hell is accurate. It is simply not understood in a practical manner.

The reality is that we are in hell right now, but some of us in human bodies are relatively more pain-free than others. Yes, there are people in worse hells than ours: Consider parts of the world where people are starving, ravished with diseases, or are being raped or tortured. These are suffering worse hells than we are at the moment. (This doesn't mean we shouldn't try to help them, however.)

Or think of those trapped in small animal or insect bodies perpetually chased by large predators. This is a much worse hell than ours. Yet this hell exists all around us.

Each person in a physical body is living within some extent of hell. Every body will be racked with pain and disease. Every body will feel agonizing pain. Every body will suffer a gruesome death. This is the reality of wearing a physical body: Just as it is a reality that the car you drive will break down at some point, and you'll have to leave it behind and get a new car.

Yet each of us can determine the extent of our future hell by our activities and consciousness today. We can determine whether we are harvested by the Glad Reaper - God and His representatives - to return home to the spiritual dimension, or be harvested by the grim reaper to continue our hellish existence in the physical dimension. It is our choice.

"I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor"

Again, Jesus is referring to the work that he, John the Baptist, Moses, David, Solomon, Abraham and the rest of the prophets have done. They had given people information about God and the spiritual world. They had taught people the commandments of God, and instructed them to love God with all their hearts. These were the "sowers" that came before Jesus' students.

Remember that Jesus is speaking to his students here. He says, "I sent you to reap what you did not work for." Jesus is essentially asking them to go out and continue the teachings and gather those who want to return to God by confirming and practicing the teachings of Jesus and the lineage of teachers (the prophets) that he came in. He wanted his students to continue those teachings, and bring those who want to go home, back to the spiritual world - where there is no pain, no death, and no suffering.

This is the world of love that each of us seeks from within. This is the world where the Supreme Being is the center. The physical world is the world where each of us wants to be the center.

In order to return to our home in the spiritual realm, loving and serving the Supreme Being must become the center of our lives. This is our natural position, and what will fulfill us and complete us.

"Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming ...” (John 5:28-29)

"Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out - those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” (John 5:28-29) 

Is Jesus speaking about the second coming?

This statement by Jesus has often been used to promote erroneous concepts of the "second coming" and "judgment day" by sectarian organizations and their teachers.

Yet these words are clear. Jesus is saying that "all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out." Doesn't this sound like the rising of people out of their graves when they hear the voice of God?

Then he says that "those who have done good will rise and live" and "those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." Isn't this pretty clear that people will be rising out of their graves and according to whether they were good or bad they will have life or condemnation?

What else could he have meant? And do people really remain in their graves despite the body becoming decomposed?

And what if a person dies by drowning and is not recovered, or otherwise the body isn't buried after death? What happens to those people who have no "graves" to "rise up" from?

What happens when the body dies?

When the physical body dies, the body begins to immediately decompose. Within years, the flesh decomposes, and within decades, the bones complete their decomposition in most cases. In normal soil, the physical body has disappeared and become soil within 25-50 years.

Where is the person then? If the body has decomposed there is nowhere for the person to be. If we are assuming that each of us is the body, that would mean that when the body decomposed, we would decompose. This would mean that everyone who has been buried over the centuries where the body is decomposed would be gone. Who is Jesus referring to then?

Were there graves during Jesus' time?

Furthermore, during Jesus' time, dead bodies were not buried in graves. Typically the family would put the dead body into a cave dug into some rock. There the body would decompose, leaving the bones. Then the bones would be put in a box called an ossuary.

Those who did not have families to put their bodies into tombs would be tossed into a pit with many other dead bodies. Then dirt would be thrown over the pit over time.

This means there were no graves during the time that Jesus was supposed to have said this. Could this be a translation error?

The Greek word that is translated to "graves" is μνημεῖον (mnēmeion). This means, according to the lexicon, "any visible object for preserving or recalling the memory of any person or thing." This has been interpreted to typically mean, a sepulcher or a tomb. But if we are speaking of an object meant for recalling the memory of a person, then that person is no longer in that object. It is an object that helps people remember the person. Why?

Because the person is gone. If it is to memorialize their passing, then the person has passed. They are gone.

In other words, Jesus did not say that people would be physically waiting in their graves. There were no graves back then, and the Greek word is not describing a grave where a person is still awaiting their rise at the second coming.

When the physical body dies, the spiritual individual (soul) who has been operating that body leaves. Each body maintains a spiritual individual who operates that physical body much as a person operates an automobile. And just as a person steps out of the car after it stops running, the spiritual individual will leave the body once it dies.

Is Jesus using a metaphor?

Since there is no one waiting in their grave or tomb, we must assume that Jesus is speaking allegorically. We find this same type of allegory elsewhere:

"I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the son of God and those who hear will live." (John 5:25)

“Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” (Matt. 8:22)

In both of these verses, Jesus is not speaking of those who are physically dead. How can a physically dead person bury a dead body? And how can a physically dead person hear? Jesus is speaking allegorically as he refers to being "dead." He is talking about those who are living lives without love of God, which he considers life.

How can a physical body that has decomposed (including the ears) hear a voice?

What does Jesus mean by 'come out'?

Jesus is not saying that decomposed dead bodies will be physically coming out of their graves - even if there were graves back then. Those decomposed bodies would have decomposed by then. What will be rising then? A shovelful of dirt? Or an ossuary box of bones?

Rather, Jesus is speaking metaphorically, of the soul or spirit-person leaving the body. What "comes out" of the body at the time of death is the spirit-person. The soul "passes away" at the time of death.

This is the concept of "come out" stated by Jesus. The spirit-person or soul will "come out" of the body at the time of death.

What does Jesus mean by 'a time is coming'?

Sectarian interpreters have speculated that Jesus is referring to some time in the distant future (at least 2,000 years later because it hasn't happened yet) when the end of the world would come and Jesus would return. That is the assumed "second coming."

Has it happened yet? No. Has that kept many sectarian teachers in predicting the end of the world through the centuries? No.

Rather, Jesus is speaking metaphorically about the time of death, which happens to each of us individually. Each of us will have a unique time of death. At that time, we - the soul or spirit-person - will leave the physical body.

This is the concept of "a time is coming." Jesus is stating that "a time is coming" for each of us, where our physical body will die and we - the soul or spirit-person - will "come out" of the body and "rise."

Have any end-of-the-world predictions come true?

Consider only a short list of the many sectarian institution teachers that have inaccurately predicted the arrival of the end of the world and the second coming over the centuries:

Here is a shortlist of some historical figures who predicted the end of the world on a certain date. They include priests, preachers, cardinals, popes and founders of various sects among them. The date they predicted to be the end of the world follows their name:

• Hilary of Poitiers: 365 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Martin of Tours: 375 to 400 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Hydatius (Bishop of Aquae) 482 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Sextus Julius Africanus: 500 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Hippolytus of Rome: 500 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Beatus of Leibana: 793 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Gregory of Tours: 799 to 800 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• Thiota: 847 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Pope Sylvester II: 1000 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Gerard of Poehlde: 1147 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• John of Toledo: 1179 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Joachim of Fiore: 1205 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Pope Innocent III: 1284 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Joachimites: 1290 and 1335 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• Jean de Roquetaillade: 1368 and 1370 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• Amaldus de Villa Nova: 1378 (predicted doomsday date)
• Thomas Muntzer: 1525 AD  (predicted doomsday date)
• Johannes Stoffler: 1524 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Hans Hut (Anabaptist): 1528 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Melchior Hoffman (Anabaptist): 1533 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Jan Matthys (Anabaptist): 1534 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Martin Luther (Augustinian monk): 1600 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Christopher Columbus: 1658 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Joseph Mede: 1660 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Sabbatai Zevi: 1648 and 1666 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• Fifth Monarchists: 1666 and 1673 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• Benjamin Keach (Baptist): 1689 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Pierre Jurieu: 1689 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• John Mason (Anglican): 1694 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Johan Heinrich Alsted (Calvinist): 1694 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Cotton Mather (Puritan): 1697, 1716 and 1736 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• Henry Archer (Fifth Monarchist): 1700 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa: 1700 to 1734 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• Camisards: 1705 and 1708 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• William Whitson: 1736 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Emanuel Swedenborg (Lutheran): 1757 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• The Shakers (Ann Lee): 1792 and 1794 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• Cardinal Pierre d'Ailly: 1789 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Charles Wesley (Methodist): 1794 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Christopher Love (Presbyterian): 1805 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Margaret McDonald: 1830 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Joseph Smith (Mormon): 1832 and 1891 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Johann Albrecht Bengel (Lutheran): 1846 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• John Wesley (Methodist founder): 1836 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• William Miller (Millerites founder): 1843 and 1844 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• George Rapp (Harmony Society founder): 1847 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Harriet Livermore: 1847 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Ellen White (Seven Day Adventists): 1850, 1856 and "early 1900s" AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• John Cumming: 1862 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Joseph Morris (Mormon): 1862 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• John Wroe (Christian Israelite Church): 1863 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Jonas Wendell and other Adventist preachers: 1863, 1874, 1870 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• Mother Shipton: 1881 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Wovoka (Ghost Dance): 1890 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Catholic Apostolic Church: 1901 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah's Witnesses): 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, 1994 and others more recent. (predicted doomsday dates)
• Margaret Rowen (Seventh-Day Adventist): 1920 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Spencer Perceval (Catholic Apostolic Church): 1926 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Wilbur Glenn Voliva: 1935 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Herbert Armstrong (Worldwide Church of God founder): 1936 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Florence Houteff (Branch Davidians): 1959 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Johann Bischoff (New Apostolic Church): 1951 and 1960 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• Jim Jones (People's Temple cult): 1967 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• George Williams (Church of the Firstborn): 1969 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Herbert Armstrong (Worldwide Church of God): 1972 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• John Wroe (Christian Israelite Church): 1977 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• William Branham (evangelist): 1977 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Chuck Smith (Calvary Chapel): 1981 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Pat Robertson (evangelist): 1982 and 2007 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
• Lester Sumrall (Pentecostal): 1985 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Edgar Whisenant: 1988 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Elizabeth Clare (Summit Lighthouse): 1990 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Rollen Stewart: 1992 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• David Berg (The Family): 1993 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Harold Camping: 1994, 1995, 2011 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Ronald Weinland (Church of God): 2011 and 2012 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Aggai: 1997 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Marshall Applewhite (Heavens Gate cult): 1997 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Archbishop James Ussher: 1997 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• James Gordon Lindsay (Christ for the Nations): 1999 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Jerry Falwell (evangelist): 2000 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Ed Dobson: 2000 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Lester Sumrall: 2000 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• Jonathan Edwards (Congr. Protestant): 2000 AD (predicted doomsday date)
• David Meade: 2017 and 2018 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

Yes, all of these teachers and their organizations have lied to their followers and tricked them into joining their cult out of fear that they may be left behind when Jesus comes again and "judgment day" is upon us. This is quite simply a crime against humanity. Innocent people were fooled at the hands of unscrupulous people whose objectives were to self-promote themselves and/or their organization.

Didn't Jesus call out such charlatans?

Jesus himself described his feeling towards the charlatans listed above, who have falsely predicted the end of the world, and thus falsely interpreted Jesus' teachings:

“Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will come to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matt. 7:21-23)

Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?" This is very clear that those who use Jesus' name to spread all kinds of predictions (prophecy) about the future, and make up fictional events such as the end of the world and physical second coming are, as Jesus puts it, simply "evildoers."

And what is "evil?" Evil is acting selfishly. Evil is acting on one's own behalf, rather than on God's behalf. Evil means ignoring the existence of the Supreme Being and seeing ourselves as the supreme being. It means feeling that doing our will is the most important.

Jesus wants us to do God's will, not our own will. This and only this will help us grow spiritually and make us happy, and alive.

What is Judgment day?

How a person lived their physical life - how much spiritual growth we made - is judged upon the death of the body. This has been explained by many verses in scripture. This is the real "judgment day," and the moment that Jesus speaks of here. When our physical body dies, we leave it. We are then faced with God and/or His servants, who replay for us the major events of our physical lives.

Once our lives are flashed back, we then have to reckon with the consequences of the decisions and actions of our physical lifetime, and how much we grew spiritually. This determines where we go after this point.

This process is not only scripturally supported, but it is supported scientifically by clinical death and near-death experiences. Over and over, people have described, once their bodies were resuscitated from being clinically dead, this experience of having their lives flashed back and being judged by God and/or one of His servants. Those who have followed Jesus' teachings will often describe facing Jesus.

Will the "second coming" ever come?

As for the concept of the "second coming," this also can occur at death, for those who have actually followed the teachings of Jesus, and used their lives in the service of God.

This is mirrored by the concept of being born again. Being born again is the same as having a change of heart. This means putting God in the center of our lives. Whether we are in a physical body or out of it, being born again is a second coming because we are connected with the Supreme Being: We are born again into our spiritual lives.

As described above, those who have sincerely followed Jesus (and not simply exploited his teachings for their own purposes), and have devoted their lives to the service of God ("those who have done good"), will meet up with Jesus at the time of death. This is the result of being born again.

Such a meeting is the "second coming" according to Jesus' teachings. Here Jesus, God's representative, will help guide them back to the spiritual world, where they will "hear His voice" and resume their original relationship (of loving service) with God.

"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will ..." (John 6:38-40)

"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:38-40)

Is Jesus saying that he is God?

Many have misinterpreted this statement to mean that Jesus is saying that he is God. (See below for a clearer translation.*) 

The Jewish Pharisees listening to Jesus also thought this. They began to grumble and question:

"Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?" (John 6:41)

In other words, how could someone who was born among men claim to suddenly have the authority of the Supreme Being?

The primary fact not understood is that Jesus was not his physical body. His physical body was a temporary vehicle for Jesus' spirit-person.

The physical is occupied by a person of another plane of existence - of spirit - making the occupant of each physical body a spirit-person. In the case of Jesus, his physical body was occupied by a superior spirit-person - a loving servant and representative of God, whom God dispatched to teach on His behalf.

Jesus states this clearly here when he says:

"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me."

Is this not clear enough? If a person says they are not doing their own will but someone else's will, does that make them the other person? Certainly not. There are still two individuals present. One is choosing to work on behalf of the other.

Furthermore, Jesus clearly speaks of two entities here: "me" and "Him who sent me." How could Jesus be the sender and the messenger at the same time?

Jesus did not become the Supreme Being and the Supreme Being did not become Jesus, just as an ambassador of a country's president does not become the president when he goes to another country. God has empowered Jesus as His representative, and Jesus furthered the will of the Supreme Being by acting on behalf of God.

Why isn't Jesus doing his own will?

Jesus is speaking of choosing to work on behalf of someone else. This is called service. And when that service is performed with love and the desire to please the one being served, that is called being a loving servant.

In the case of Jesus, he is speaking of doing the will of the Supreme Being. Doing God's will, in other words.

Jesus was God's loving servant. This is confirmed by another statement:

"I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me." (John 5:30)

What did Jesus mean by 'son'?

In this context, "loving servant," is a more appropriate translation of the Greek word υἱός (huios). The lexicon clearly states that the translation of this word to "son" only "in a restricted sense, the male offspring (one born by a father and of a mother)." Otherwise, it indicates the word means "one who depends on another or is his follower."

As described elsewhere, the most appropriate translation of the Greek word υἱός is devoted follower or loving servant, not "son," because son only applies to an offspring of a physical family according to the lexicon.

Just consider a few of Jesus' statements that utilize this word υἱός (huios) - using NKJV:

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matt. 5:9)

“But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection." (Luke 20:35-36)

"The people of this age marry and are given in marriage." (Luke 20:34)

These uses of the word υἱός (huios) illustrate the alternative use of the word outside of the relationship of physical bodies - parents and their children. This means that references Jesus makes in his spiritual relationship with the Supreme Being (translated to "son of God") and to humanity ("son of man") are akin to his statement in Luke 20:35-36, wherein it is clear a more appropriate translation would be devoted follower or loving servant.

Thus we would have:

"Son of God" is thus better translated to: "Devoted follower of God" or "Loving servant of God." In the case of Jesus, depending upon the context, it would be better translated to "Representative of God." Such a case for this translation is also made in Thayer's lexicon. 

And "Son of man" is better translated to: "Servant of humanity" or "Servant of the people."

This makes more sense, doesn't it? A person who is led by God is certainly following God. And a person who is following God is certainly serving God. Furthermore, a person who is following God by saving humanity would therefore be serving humanity.

Jesus confirmed his position as servant in other verses, such as:

“For even the Son of Man [Servant of humanity] did not come to be served, but to serve" (Mark 10:45)

"The greatest among you will be your servant." (Matt. 23:11)

Thus by Jesus' own admission and teachings, he stated clearly that he was in the position of servant - God's loving servant and the loving servant of humanity.

Jesus is describing the empowerment that God’s representative and loving servant receives from God. The loving servant and representative of God has been empowered by God to be able to save someone from the depths of the hell of the physical world by passing God's message on to the student.

What does the 'last day' mean?

This also is the meaning of "raise them up on the last day." Many ecclesiastical sectarian teachers would like us to believe that Jesus is speaking of some supposed day in the future where Jesus will return to earth and bring all his flock - who have been waiting after having been dead for how long? - back to heaven with him. This is actually an absurd and comical interpretation of this statement by Jesus.

"The last day" that Jesus is speaking of is the day when each person's body dies. The day the body dies is the last day of our physical life in this body. It is not some kind of mysterious "second coming" that so many sectarian teachers have predicted over and over (incorrectly) as Armageddon – its Greek word (only used once in the Bible) referring to a hilly region (“harrar”) of Megiddon – a region located in Northern Israel.

What about the "Rapture"?

Then there is this speculative concept called the “rapture” – a theory developed by John Nelson Darby in the early part of the Nineteenth century and proselytized by Cyrus I. Scofield, who wrote it into his “Scofield Reference Bible.”

The concept of the “rapture” is never mentioned in the texts of the Bible – at all. It is a speculative theory made up by sectarian teachers interested in attracting followers.

The “rapture’ theory nonsensically states that we will all wait in our graves until some moment when Jesus “comes” and frees all the believers from their graves, whereupon they float up to the clouds to meet up with their families and then float up above that to meet up with Jesus.

Perhaps these "rapturists" never dug up an old gravesite. If they had, they would have realized that within a few years, the body decomposes and turns into soil. The bugs and microbes eat it up and discharge the waste into the soil. The body will be completely gone within a few decades following death – depending upon how it is buried.

The reality is, the day each of our bodies dies we will have to leave them. This is our own personal "Armageddon." This is the day when everything we thought we owned is torn away from us. This is the day that our family is torn away. This is the day when our reputation is torn away from us. This is the day that all our plans and all our accumulated wealth are all torn away from us.

Yes, this day brings upheaval and great calamity and great wailing, as the scriptures discuss. But this is a personal event that each of us faces individually when we are forcefully pulled away from our physical bodies. Because each of us dies alone, regardless of how many family members we are surrounded by at the time.

On this day of the death of our physical body not only do we leave our body, but our lives will be judged, and our next destination will be determined. This is also called "Judgement Day." The day that we leave our bodies is our own personal "Judgement Day."

God's messenger Jesus was empowered by God with the ability to guide us towards achieving our loving relationship with God. God is ultimately in charge, but He empowers His messenger to help those who want to return to Him after their "last day."

The fact that Jesus is doing God's also explains the "oneness" that exists between God and His messenger Jesus. They have become "one" in purpose, and "one" in love. But they remain two individuals: God remains God, and God's representative is His loving servant.

But they have the same purpose because Jesus is God's representative - and thus doing the will of the Supreme Being.

*Here is the translation of these verses according to the Lost Gospels of Jesus:

“For I have descended from the spiritual realm not to please myself but to please Him who sent me. And what pleases Him who sent me is that I shall lose none of those He has entrusted to me, but raise them up at the time of death. For what pleases my LORD is that everyone who perceives the Representative and trusts in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the time of death.” (John 6:38-40)

"No one can come to me unless the Father Who sent me draws him ..." (John 6:44-51)

At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?" "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:41-51) 

What does 'unless the Father who sent me draws him' mean?

Jesus is saying that those who seek the Supreme Being are directed to God's messenger and representative of God. It is God who directs us to His messenger if we are seeking the Truth.

Furthermore, Jesus is clarifying that the Supreme Being sent him and authorized him. This clearly makes Jesus God's messenger and representative.

Jesus also indicates here that the Supreme Being directs us according to our desires. If we desire to know Him, then the Supreme Being directs us to someone He has empowered to represent Him. This is the meaning of: "No one can come to me unless the Father Who sent me draws him" and "Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to me."

Jesus is explaining how people are given the vision to see Jesus' relationship with the Supreme Being: God gives that vision from within, should there be a sincere desire to come to know the Supreme Being.

Via God's direct and indirect arrangements, we are each directed towards our particular goals. If we have certain physical desires, then God's physical mechanisms automatically direct us to those means. Or if we want to pretend we are religious to impress others, then God or His mechanisms will direct us to charlatan religious teachers and their institutions to achieve those goals.

But if we are serious about knowing Him, the Supreme Being will direct us to His bona fide representative.

What does 'they will all be taught by God' mean?

Jesus is quoting Isaiah when he said, "'They will all be taught by God.'" What did he mean by that? We find the meaning when we read Isaiah in context (Isaiah 54:5-13):

"For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD Almighty is His Name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
He is called the God of all the earth.

The LORD will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected," says your God.

"For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.

In a surge of anger
I hid My Face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the LORD your Redeemer.

"To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.

Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor My covenant of peace be removed,"
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

"O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will build you with stones of turquoise,
your foundations with sapphires.

I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.

All your sons will be taught by the LORD,
and great will be your children's peace."

(Here is Isaiah 53 in context.)

Who are these verses referring to?

Here God is referred to as "Maker," "Holy One of Israel," "LORD" and "LORD Almighty" in the above verses.

God is communicating through Isaiah that He wants us back. He wants us to return to our relationship with Him. We belong to Him. We are His loving companions and He is our husband. He is our Redeemer. He is our ultimate Master and He loves us deeply.

But because He also gives us the free will to love Him or not, each of us has the choice to love Him or not. We have strayed from Him, but He wants us to choose to return to our relationship with Him.

We might carefully consider God's statement above: 

"For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion, I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness, I will have compassion on you."

What kind of God is speaking these words here? Is this coming from a vague force or cloud in the heavens? Are we talking about a burning bush or a thunderous voice?

No. The Supreme Being is a Person. He has a Personality and a Face. The Supreme Being also has feelings and emotions. He cares deeply about us. He is Someone we can love and care for. He is someone we can love and serve.

Why isn't this a common interpretation?

We might wonder why so many teachers of sectarian institutions do not see that these and so many other verses and books of the Bible are referring to a beautiful, loving Supreme Being. Why do so many interpret this as God being a vengeful, jealous and angry God?

The answer is that the leaders and teachers of these institutions are not ready to accept a superior being. We don't want to accept that the Supreme Being is greater than ourselves and He is in charge. This has caused a gross misinterpretation and in so many cases, a mistranslation of the Bible scriptures with respect to the Supreme Being.

This is a common thread among humans simply because we want to be masters rather than caregivers or servants. This has created a barrier between us and the Supreme Being - caused by our intention to be superior.

This is why we are away from the Supreme Being, and why we misunderstand His communications to us over the centuries. Because we wanted to be superior, we were tossed out of the spiritual realm into a rehabilitation center of sorts. We abandoned our natural position as caregivers and servants.

Yes, the physical world is a rehabilitation center, and our rehabilitation efforts are voluntary. This means we have the freedom to keep ignoring the Supreme Being and His dedicated children - or not. We have the choice to work ourselves back into the spiritual realm to be with Him - or not.

Now should we desire to return to Him, as Jesus stated above, He will direct us to His empowered representative. God's representative is like an ambassador in a foreign country. A traveler who gets put in jail in a foreign country will have no other hope but the ambassador of his home country to negotiate his return to his homeland.

The Supreme Being is doing the same thing when he embarks His representative. We are in a foreign country, in that this physical world is not our home. We are trapped here, without a refuge other than God and His representative. Should we sincerely desire to return home, God directs us to His representative, who guides us back home.

Is it really this practical?

No fantastic or imaginative scenarios are needed. The Supreme Being is a very pragmatic and practical person. He has a purpose for each of us - but still gives each of us the freedom to decide whether we want to be part of that purpose or not.

“I will raise him up on the last day,” refers to the time of death. Being raised up means having a spiritual consciousness at the time of death. Such a consciousness can be given to us by following the teachings of Jesus. Should we have such a consciousness, we'll be raised up back to the spiritual realm.

This is ultimately the power of the Supreme Being. Jesus states clearly elsewhere, these teachings are coming from the Supreme Being:

“My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me." (John 7:16)

As indicated, above, the “last day” is the time of death of our current physical body. Each of us has a last day of the physical body. It is not some mysterious day in the future when there will be an apocalypse (an interpretation originally conjured up by ecclesiastical teachers of the church - dictated by the Roman government - to scare followers into paying their tithings). It is the day that each of us dies. 

On that day, everything in our physical world is torn away from us: Our family, our name, our reputation, our money, our home and all our material possessions are ripped away from us in one fell swoop. This is the day that each person dreads.

This is also the day we are judged for our activities in this lifetime: It is Judgement Day. If we have taken refuge in the teachings of the representative of God, we are guided back to God's spiritual world. If not, we are given more training and sent back to the physical world for continued rehabilitation.

Why does Jesus say, 'I am the bread of life' again?

Jesus also mentioned this earlier, when he said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry."

As explained with that verse, the reason why Jesus says, "I am the bread of life" is because He is representing God, and delivering God's message - which gives life: "But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die." 

We are obviously not talking about eating Jesus. That is ridiculous. Jesus is using bread as a metaphor.

So what would Jesus be bringing to the people that would give them the ability to not die?

Why did Jesus say, 'the bread is my flesh'?

Jesus also spoke about the bread being his flesh at the last supper. Was he speaking of his literal flesh? Many teachers of sectarian institutions say that Jesus was speaking of his sacrifice on the cross, thinking that by devouring his dead physical body we are saved (as is done ceremoniously during rituals with wine and crackers). This doesn't make sense. It is also ghoulish - akin to cannibalism. Jesus was not referring to them literally eating his physical body.

Jesus many times spoke of the physical body as differentiated from our actual identity as spiritual:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear...." (Matt 6:25)

He taught that we should seek the higher realm:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matt. 5:6)

Why would Jesus suddenly want people to start eating his physical flesh to become saved?

So what do the metaphors of "bread" and "flesh" mean, then?

Jesus was speaking of the knowledge he was giving to others: His teachings. This is Jesus' very substance - what his focus was as he walked the earth. Jesus spent so much time teaching people. He stood before masses and he spoke to small groups. He spoke privately and he spoke publicly. 

The four books of the New Testament contain only some of his teachings. Biblical scholars say there were at least 50 books of Jesus' teachings being distributed before the Roman government compiled their own set into the Bible and banned the rest.

What does 'bread' refer to?

The use of the word“bread” as analogous to hearing knowledge from the loving servant and representative of God is appropriate because this knowledge is like food in that it satisfies the spiritual living being - assuming the person takes that knowledge to heart and begins to act upon it. This culminates with taking up the loving service to the Supreme Being. Jesus stated this elsewhere:

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work." (John 4:34)

Acting on the instructions from God's representative is also the meaning of "he who believes has everlasting life." "Believes" is not a good translation* of the Greek word πιστεύω (pisteuō). The word also means to trust - see below for a more appropriate translation*

In other words, simply accepting God's or Jesus' existence does not save us. Anyone can accept God's existence - even the most selfish, evil person can believe in God's existence.

Rather, Jesus is speaking of trust. This means to rely upon God. It means to trust that Jesus' instructions come from the Supreme Being, and the Supreme Being cares for us.

It means trusting that the Supreme Being wants the best for us, and everything that happens is ultimately for our welfare. The Supreme Being wants us to be happy. If we follow the instructions from God's representative, we will become happy, and fulfilled.

Jesus represented the Supreme Being as he delivered to others the knowledge about how they could come to know and love God. Once we come to know and love the Supreme Being, we can return to Him at the time of death ("raise him up on the last day.").

This is also precisely what the Supreme Being spoke of through Isaiah. God wants us to return to Him, and He sends His loving servants as His representatives to give us the knowledge and instructions to be able to return home to Him. And what is the central instruction given by Jesus, Moses and all the other bona fide representatives of God?

" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

*Here is the translation of this statement according to the Lost Gospels of Jesus:

“Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can follow me unless the Creator who sent me guides them, and I will raise them up at the end of their lifetime. It is written by the Prophets: ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Anyone who has heard and learned from the Creator also follows me. No one knows the Creator except one who associates with God; only he knows the Creator. Very truly I say to you, one who trusts in me achieves eternal life. I am the food of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, but they died. This is the food that descends from the spiritual realm, that which one may eat and not die. I am the living food that descends from the spiritual realm. If anyone consumes this food they will live forever. And the food I give for the sake of life in the world is my very substance.” (John 6:43-51)

"You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back ..." (John 14:28-29)

"You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe." (John 14:28-29)

Where is Jesus going?

Earlier in this conversation, Jesus says that he is going to the Father:

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12)

Jesus is clear that he is returning to the spiritual realm. He is going home to be with the Supreme Being:

While the phrase "going away" is consistent with the Greek word ὑπάγω (hypagō) - the second use of the word "going" is not appropriate. This second "going" is being translated from the Greek word πορεύω (poreuō). This can mean, according to the lexicon, "to continue on one's journey," but also "to follow one, that is: become his adherent."

In the context of this statement, it would be unreasonable to translate the word πορεύω (poreuō) to "going" because "going" doesn't capture the essence of the meaning of "to follow one, that is: become his adherent." This means that Jesus is talking about his dedication to God - not that he is "going to the Father."

Yes, Jesus is speaking of his dedication to the Supreme Being. This is related to why Jesus is "going away." It is also related to the fact that Jesus loves the Supreme Being - that is why he is leaving them.

This answered Thomas' question:

Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" (John 14:5)

Why does Jesus say 'if you loved me'?

What does it mean when a person loves another? It means that they care about the person's welfare. They are happy when that person is happy. They want the person to be happy.

Jesus is saying that if his disciples were wanting Jesus to be happy they would rejoice in the fact that Jesus is returning to be with God. Why?

First, because Jesus was recognizing that his disciples' were concerned about losing him. Peter had said "Lord, where are you going?" and "Lord, why can't I follow you now?" after Jesus told them he was leaving them and returning to God in the spiritual realm soon. They were more concerned about Jesus' leaving them than Jesus' own happiness.

This is a personal statement by Jesus - describing a level of intimacy and devotion many do not see.

Nonetheless, it is difficult to find an English word or expression that communicates the devotional motive behind his leaving them to be with the Supreme Being. So we'll just have to stick with the second "going" but understand that the purpose and motive are based on love and dedication.

Why would they be 'glad'?

The word "glad" is describing how Jesus thinks those who love him will feel as they understand that Jesus is returning to be with the Supreme Being. The word "glad" is being translated from the Greek word, χαίρω (chairō). While "glad" is not necessarily wrong, it does not portray the intensity of the feeling Jesus is speaking of.

The word χαίρω (chairō) means not only "glad" according to the lexicon, but it means "to rejoice exceedingly" and "in salutations, hail" as well. In other words, it is a word communicating a more extreme happiness than the word "glad" portrays.

Indeed, Jesus precedes this with the notion of love. "If you loved me" communicates two issues: "If" taken from the Greek word εἰ (ei) and "you loved," taken from ἀγαπάω (agapaō). The lexicon describes this word to mean "to love dearly."

So Jesus is not assuming his disciples love him, he is saying "if" they loved him.

Is this because Jesus loves God?

This is the missing element that gets lost in translation here. Jesus is speaking of his loving relationship with the Supreme Being and the fact that he wants to return to be with God.

This may seem odd for many who perceive God to be a vague force or even Jesus himself as many teach. Or, as portrayed among the mistranslations and misinterpretations of the Old Testament, as some kind of angry God whose biggest concern is whether we are following the rules - an enforcer who is out to punish us if we do anything wrong. Is this the God Jesus loves?

Jesus does not see God in this way because this is not God's true nature. The Supreme Being is loving, caring, compassionate and protective. Jesus wants to be with Him. He loves the Supreme Being. And his teachings have asked us that we also love and serve the Supreme Being with all our hearts.

According to this translation, Jesus says, "for the Father is greater than I." Is this a correct translation? Is Jesus really comparing himself to God and clarifying that God is greater than he is?

Not exactly. The Greek phrase is: ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ μείζων μού ἐστιν. "Greater" is being derived from the root word μέγας (megas), which can mean "greater" in the sense of being larger in "mass and weight" or "compass and extent" or "measure and height" according to the lexicon. But these mechanical elements do not cover the full breadth of the word.

According to the lexicon, μέγας (megas) also refers to being "great," "spacious," "mighty" "strong" and "abundant," as well as "eminent for ability, virtue, authority, power;" "esteemed highly for their importance: of great moment, of great weight, importance;" " highly esteemed for its excellence: excellent;" and "splendid, prepared on a grand scale, stately" among others. 

This is quite clearly an expression of praise. It is a statement of loving praise by someone who holds another with fondness.

Now is Jesus really comparing his own greatness with God's greatness here? In fact, there is no indication that he is making a comparison between himself and the Supreme Being. Jesus does indicate himself here, but to understand this use, we have to clearly understand μέγας (megas) within the context of his personal relationship with God.

Is Jesus praising himself?

Let's say that we really loved and cared for a friend, and we were speaking of that friend fondly to others. Would we compare ourselves with that friend as we praised them? Would we say, "my friend is greater than I am"?

This, of course, would be rude, because while we are supposedly praising our friend, we are actually saying that we are great. Is this what Jesus is saying here? That 'I am great but God is greater'?

No. Jesus is simply saying that he is praising God because God is so great. The involvement of "I" in the statement does not mean he is comparing himself. The "I" simply indicates that Jesus is emphatic about his praise of God.

We have to understand Jesus' statements in the context of how he felt about the Supreme Being. He humbly loved God and wanted to be with Him. Praising God was an important part of Jesus' spiritual practices and teachings, and this has been hidden from view by ecclesiastical (professional) translators who did not understand Jesus' teachings and personal loving relationship with God.

This is also the hidden meaning of "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" (John 12:13 and elsewhere). This misinterpreted and mistranslated phrase indicates a person who is representing God and whose teachings are praising God and His Holy Names.

Jesus also says, "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.'" What is Jesus referring to here and what does this mean?

Here Jesus is referring to a statement made earlier in this intimate discussion with his close disciples:

"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:2-3)

As discussed with these, Jesus is speaking of returning to the spiritual realm after the death of his physical body. Here he will "prepare a place" for his disciples - meaning he will create the opportunity for them to return when they leave their physical bodies. Then he will "come back and take" his disciples "to be with me that you also may be where I am."

This is not the same scenario that some have taught over the centuries concerning this discussion. They take Jesus' statements here out of context. Jesus is having an intimate discussion with those disciples who have committed their lives to Jesus and have given up their families, jobs and standing in the community to follow his teachings - and then pass those teachings on after Jesus leaves his body.

What is the context of Jesus' statements?

Jesus is not speaking with the whole world as interpreted by some. He is not talking about some coming "end of the world" scenario where he will come galloping through the sky to pick up his followers while chopping the heads off others with his sword.

This is in fact how many have portrayed this supposed event. With Jesus galloping through the world over the clouds, maiming everyone but his followers.

Rather, Jesus is talking about escorting his dedicated disciples back to the spiritual realm after their bodies die. The word "come" used in "come back" is derived from the Greek word, ἔρχομαι (erchomai), which means "to appear, make one's appearance" according to the lexicon.

And the word "take" in "take you" is derived from the Greek word, παραλαμβάνω (paralambanō), which means not just "take" but also to "receive" one. This is the element of escort. It is not as if Jesus will be kidnapping them when they die. He will be receiving them and escorting them back to the spiritual realm.

This notion of expanding this statement to cover some "end of the world" scenario is an irresponsible attempt to threaten people about some big day of reckoning to scare them into becoming followers.

Jesus was speaking of the real day of reckoning: The time of death. Each of us will face "judgment day" at the time of death. When we die the summation of our lives - our deeds, desires and consciousness - are brought to bear, and this will determine where we go next.

Jesus is clarifying that if his followers are focused upon following his instructions, then he will appear before them - in other words, be with them - at the time of death of the physical body to escort them back to the spiritual realm to be with the Supreme Being.

And while this discussion is pointedly being made to his disciples, anyone who commits their life to following Jesus' instructions also has the same opportunity.

And what are those instructions? Jesus makes them clear with two statements:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 7:21)

and

“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matt. 22:37-38)

*Here is the translation of Jesus' statement from the Lost Gospels of Jesus:

"You heard that I said to you, ‘I depart yet I will be with you.’ If you love me you will rejoice because I depart for the Creator, for the Creator is greater than me. I tell you now before it takes place so that when it happens, you will have faith.” (John 14:28-29)

"If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? ..." (John 21:22)

Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” (John 21:20-23)

What does Jesus mean by 'until I return'?

The Greek word being translated to "return" here is ἔρχομαι (erchomai). According to Thayer's lexicon, this word means "to appear, make one's appearance, come before the public." When used metaphorically, the word means: "to come into being, arise, come forth, show itself, find place or influence" and "be established, become known, to come (fall) into or unto."

The concept of "return" is being inferred here by institutional translators* who have failed to understand the spiritual nature of Jesus' statements regarding his relationship with his followers.

Jesus is not speaking of returning to the physical world. If this were true he would be missing them, because he has yet to return and they have long passed away - nearly two thousand years ago.

Rather, Jesus is speaking of reuniting with them in the spiritual realm after they leave the physical world.

The metaphorical use of the word ἔρχομαι (erchomai) is also used by Jesus within the Lord's prayer - and also mistranslated to "come:"

"... Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." (Matt. 6:10)

In this reference, Jesus is not speaking of God's kingdom literally "coming" - or even "returning." The statement speaks of the kingdom of God becoming present in our life: Allowing us to live within a particular consciousness - of being one of God's loving servants.

Furthermore, as stated in the lexicon, when the word is used metaphorically - as it is applied to the spiritual context Jesus utilizes in his teachings, the word can mean:

"to come into being, arise, come forth, show itself, find place or influence."

We can also see this mistranslation with this statement:

“And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:62)

Here we can see clearly that if Jesus is "sitting" he cannot also be "coming" as would be applied to travel. Again, the word ἔρχομαι (erchomai) is referring to becoming present somewhere - "to appear."

We can see this mistranslation (and misinterpretation) even more clearly in another statement made by Jesus regarding his coming appearance:

"Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory." (Matt. 24:30)

Again it is obvious that "when they see" relates to Jesus' presence - rather than "coming" on the "clouds of heaven."

Is this about presence or appearance?

Jesus' statements go to the very root of the misinterpretation of Jesus' presence in heaven - or in this case as he speaks of his beloved disciple to Peter - "to arise" - we find a clearer understanding of how the spirit-person of one who dedicates himself to God will "arise" and return to the spiritual realm at the time of death.

The verses above (Mark 14:62 and Matt. 24:30) - usually quoted out of context - have been used by some to teach that Jesus will be seen riding through the sky on horseback or on clouds as the world is coming to an end. This teaching typically comes alongside threats of eternal damnation if we don't join their institution.

The reality is that Jesus is speaking metaphorically of his followers reuniting with him at the time of death. The words "heaven" and in "clouds of heaven" are being taken from οὐρανός (ouranos), which means, according to the lexicon, "the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings."

This is quite obviously not the same sky we see above us in the physical world. This is the metaphysical "heaven" - the spiritual realm.

And "the peoples of the earth" in Matt. 24:30 are not people living on the earth. The term comes from φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς - meaning "tribes of the earth" - better defined as "people of materialism."

Jesus is functionally speaking of his becoming present to his followers at the time of death - after they leave their physical bodies and return to the spiritual realm. And those who choose not to follow him will "mourn" when they realize - after the death of their physical body - that Jesus truly is God's representative.

Jesus also expressed this when he said:

"And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given me, but raise them up at the last day." (John 6:39)

The "last day" is the time of death of the physical body. As is repeatedly taught in the scriptures - at this point our lives will be judged - and we will go to our next destination according to our life's activities and consciousness.

This is called "judgment day." The day - or moment - that each of us is judged for our life's activities and consciousness.

What is Judgment Day?

Judgment day takes place at the time of death when our physical lives are assessed. This assessment is not a cruel and mean assessment. It is a fair and loving assessment that we take part in. After our time of death, each of us will appear before God's council and address the shortcomings and achievements of our lifetime. These relate not to material achievements, but to spiritual gains. How we have progressed in our love for God and others, and how we have treated others during our physical lifetime.

We take part in this assessment. It is not like we are arrested and brought before a judge. After the death of our physical body, we are met with love and compassion. Then we are escorted to appear before God's council. Here we are asked questions about our life and discuss what we achieved during this lifetime. It is an individual process that honors our spiritual identity and our need to progress spiritually.

What happens if someone dies before this supposed "judgment day"?  According to their philosophy, if we happen to die before "judgment day" we will have to wait in a limbo state until that "day."

Yes, they are imagining a single day in all of time where every single person who has ever lived will be judged - all at once. This is a ridiculous assumption.

Some institutions have created a speculative explanation called purgatory - as though these billions of people are all floating around in limbo for thousands of years - all awaiting that single day when Jesus will ride across the sky on horseback over the clouds.

This would mean that every single person - billions upon billions of people - who has ever lived on the planet - will have to wait around somewhere for this single day to come. Where are all these people been waiting - some for thousands of years? 

Why couldn't God judge them earlier? Are they saying that God is limited in His ability to judge people? That He can only judge once in all of time?

This confounding assumption has a very large problem. If all those billions of people who have already died are in purgatory - someplace we can obviously not see around us and doesn't exist physically on the planet - then how will they be able to see Jesus riding across the sky on horseback? Their bodies are dead and decomposed - along with their eyes. So how can they see Jesus in the sky if their eyes have decomposed?

The reality is that this entire assumption of Jesus' physical "second coming" has been speculatively invented by those who misidentify themselves with the physical body, and simply want to create fear in people in order to boost their followings.

The goal and result has been to increase their number of followers.

Is there a second coming?

Not in the form imagined by some sectarian teachers over the centuries. Just consider the list of just some of the priests, preachers, and other officials - and even founders of the various sects - who have predicted the "end of the world" and Jesus' "second coming" with the particular date:

Hilary of Poitiers: 365 AD (predicted doomsday date)
Martin of Tours: 375 to 400 AD (predicted doomsday date)
Hydatius (Bishop of Aquae) 482 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Sextus Julius Africanus: 500 AD (predicted doomsday date)
Hippolytus of Rome: 500 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Beatus of Leibana: 793 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Gregory of Tours: 799 to 800 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

Thiota: 847 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Pope Sylvester II: 1000 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Gerard of Poehlde: 1147 AD (predicted doomsday date)
John of Toledo: 1179 AD (predicted doomsday date)
Joachim of Fiore: 1205 AD (predicted doomsday date)
Pope Innocent III: 1284 AD (predicted doomsday date)
Joachimites: 1290 and 1335 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

Jean de Roquetaillade: 1368 and 1370 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

Amaldus de Villa Nova: 1378 (predicted doomsday date)

Thomas Muntzer: 1525 AD  (predicted doomsday date)

Johannes Stoffler: 1524 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Hans Hut (Anabaptist): 1528 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Melchior Hoffman (Anabaptist): 1533 AD (predicted doomsday date)
Jan Matthys (Anabaptist): 1534 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Martin Luther (Augustinian monk): 1600 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Christopher Columbus: 1658 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Joseph Mede: 1660 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Sabbatai Zevi: 1648 and 1666 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

Fifth Monarchists: 1666 and 1673 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

Benjamin Keach (Baptist): 1689 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Pierre Jurieu: 1689 AD (predicted doomsday date)

John Mason (Anglican): 1694 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Johan Heinrich Alsted (Calvinist): 1694 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Cotton Mather (Puritan): 1697, 1716 and 1736 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

Henry Archer (Fifth Monarchist): 1700 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa: 1700 to 1734 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

Camisards: 1705 and 1708 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

William Whitson: 1736 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Emanuel Swedenborg (Lutheran): 1757 AD (predicted doomsday date)

The Shakers (Ann Lee): 1792 and 1794 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

Cardinal Pierre d'Ailly: 1789 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Charles Wesley (Methodist): 1794 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Christopher Love (Presbyterian): 1805 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Margaret McDonald: 1830 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Joseph Smith (Mormon): 1832 and 1891 AD (predicted doomsday date)
Johann Albrecht Bengel (Lutheran): 1846 AD (predicted doomsday date)

John Wesley (Methodist founder): 1836 AD (predicted doomsday date)

William Miller (Millerites founder): 1843 and 1844 AD (predicted doomsday dates)
George Rapp (Harmony Society founder): 1847 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Harriet Livermore: 1847 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Ellen White (Seven Day Adventists): 1850, 1856 and "early 1900s" AD (predicted doomsday dates)

John Cumming: 1862 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Joseph Morris (Mormon): 1862 AD (predicted doomsday date)

John Wroe (Christian Israelite Church): 1863 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Jonas Wendell and other Adventist preachers: 1863, 1874, 1870 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

Mother Shipton: 1881 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Wovoka (Ghost Dance): 1890 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Catholic Apostolic Church: 1901 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah's Witnesses): 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, 1994 and others more recent. (predicted doomsday dates)

Margaret Rowen (Seventh-Day Adventist): 1920 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Spencer Perceval (Catholic Apostolic Church): 1926 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Wilbur Glenn Voliva: 1935 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Herbert Armstrong (Worldwide Church of God founder): 1936 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Florence Houteff (Branch Davidians): 1959 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Johann Bischoff (New Apostolic Church): 1951 and 1960 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

Jim Jones (People's Temple cult): 1967 AD (predicted doomsday date)

George Williams (Church of the Firstborn): 1969 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Herbert Armstrong (Worldwide Church of God): 1972 AD (predicted doomsday date)

John Wroe (Christian Israelite Church): 1977 AD (predicted doomsday date)

William Branham (evangelist): 1977 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Chuck Smith (Calvary Chapel): 1981 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Pat Robertson (evangelist): 1982 and 2007 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

Lester Sumrall (Pentecostal): 1985 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Edgar Whisenant: 1988 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Elizabeth Clare (Summit Lighthouse): 1990 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Rollen Stewart: 1992 AD (predicted doomsday date)

David Berg (The Family): 1993 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Harold Camping: 1994, 1995, 2011 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Ronald Weinland (Church of God): 2011 and 2012 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Aggai: 1997 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Marshall Applewhite (Heavens Gate cult): 1997 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Archbishop James Ussher: 1997 AD (predicted doomsday date)

James Gordon Lindsay (Christ for the Nations): 1999 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Jerry Falwell (evangelist): 2000 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Ed Dobson: 2000 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Lester Sumrall: 2000 AD (predicted doomsday date)

Jonathan Edwards (Congr. Protestant): 2000 AD (predicted doomsday date)

David Meade: 2017 and 2018 AD (predicted doomsday dates)

All of these "prophesies" were wrong. Yes, these teachers and institutions threatened and scared their followers. They did this by telling them the end of the world was coming on a particular date. And they were wrong. 

This means they misled their followers. They lied to them. They said they knew something but they didn't.

How can a sane person believe these teachers after they have misled so many on this topic? Are we supposed to trust them on how they represent Jesus' teachings?

Time has revealed that these sectarian teachers were deceiving people. Once the predicted date passed, their deception was revealed. Time proved them to be wolves in sheep's clothing. Jesus spoke of these:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matt. 7:21-23)

Note the "'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name..." This is precisely what they are doing in Jesus' name: "Prophesy" means to predict the future. Predicting the end of the world or Jesus' "second coming" is a prophecy.

What does Jesus mean by 'alive'?

Consider again the meaning of ἔρχομαι (erchomai) - "to appear" or "to arise" - and the word οὐρανός (ouranos) meaning the spiritual realm -"heaven." Jesus is speaking of being present for his followers at their time of death. At their time of death, they will arise to be escorted back to the spiritual realm, where they will be present with Jesus in the company of the Supreme Being.

Given the real meaning of ἔρχομαι (erchomai) and οὐρανός (ouranos) we find a more appropriate translation in the Lost Gospels of Jesus:

"If it is willed that he remains here before arising, what is that to you? You must follow me."

The Greek text does not describe being "alive" in the early texts of John 21:22. This has been injected into the translation. The word θέλω (thelō) - being translated to "I want" - actually means "to will, have in mind, intend."

Is Jesus saying it is his will? Not necessarily. We might infer it. But it would be more appropriately understood - given the context - as being God's will, confirmed by Jesus praying to the Supreme Being:

"Yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matt. 26:39)

Remember that Jesus is responding to Peter's question about this disciple:

Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"

Jesus' reply admonishes Peter:

"... what is that to you?"

The next part of Jesus' statement relates to each of them having their own personal spiritual journey. He is admonishing him that the other disciple's journey with Jesus was not his concern.

What does 'arising' mean?

The word ἔρχομαι (erchomai) - "to arise" - is being used in conjunction with his disciple's death - following Jesus' discussion of Peter's death in the previous verse.  Jesus is discussing the disciple's spirit-person arising and returning to the spiritual realm. This is stated as one might refer to a person leaving one place and traveling to another.

This is also confirmed by the lexicon, which includes in the standard definition of the word ἔρχομαι (erchomai) - "to come from one place to another, and used both of persons arriving and of those returning."

This is in fact what Jesus is speaking of - departing from the material world and arriving in the spiritual realm - arising.

Each of us will rise from the physical body at the time of death - confirmed by hundreds of thousands of cases of clinical death, where a person whose body is revived recalls floating up over their dead body after it clinically died. They accurately describe the events taking place around their body even though the body's eyes were closed and their brain was legally dead. So who was looking down upon the body? The spirit-person who dwelled within the physical body. We cannot see this spirit-person with our physical eyes because it lies on another plane of existence.

We might refer to another verse that discusses this same element, yet slightly differently:

"Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." (Matt. 16:28)

Just like John 21:22, Jesus is speaking of being present rather than "coming" "in his kingdom" in Matt. 16:28. How could a person "come" "in his kingdom" anyway?

This verse uses the phrase γεύσωνται θανάτου - translated here to "taste death." But the word θανάτου - translated to "death" here means, according to the lexicon, "the death of the body - that separation (whether natural or violent) of the soul and the body by which the life on earth is ended" but also "with the implied idea of future misery in hell." and "the power of death - since the nether world, the abode of the dead, was conceived as being very dark, it is equivalent to the region of thickest darkness i.e. figuratively, a region enveloped in the darkness of ignorance and sin."

Those who are able to return to the spiritual realm and see Jesus' presence there, are escorted back to the spiritual realm without "tasting [spiritual] death."

So we can see here that Jesus is discussing death from a metaphorical - and spiritual - aspect. We can compare this with another statement of his:

“Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:60)

Here we find that Jesus is speaking of physical death and metaphorical death at the same time - metaphorical in the sense that those who are mourning over the physical body's death are "dead" spiritually.

What kind of relationship is Jesus discussing?

A loving relationship. When someone sees Jesus as he is, they are seeing his loving relationship with the Supreme Being. This is the secret of Jesus' teachings. He is teaching love of God and he is God's perfect lover. Thus to see Jesus "in His kingdom" is to see Jesus' intimate loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

But in John 21:23, Jesus is also speaking of practicalities. While Peter will be reunited with Jesus at the time of death of Peter's body - when Peter's spirit-person rises from the body (resurrection) - the other disciple will "remain." This means that the other disciple will not be returning to the spiritual realm as quickly as Peter will. He will be remaining within the physical world.

But Jesus also clarifies that this is not Peter's concern: "what is that to you?"

Jesus is chastising Peter for not focusing on his own personal relationship with Jesus and God:, as he states: "You must follow me."

In fact, the writer of the Book of John then indicates that he was that disciple:

This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. (John 21:24)

It also states about this disciple: ...the disciple whom Jesus loved... (John 21:20) - again revealing Jesus' loving relationships with his dedicated students.

In his love for Peter, Jesus instructed Peter: "You must follow me."

And what does following Jesus mean? It means to follow his teachings. And what was Jesus' most important teaching?

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)